The Blessed

Marli was special. She was chosen to defend the faithful from the vampire pestilence. She had trained almost a year and she was ready, even if her teachers thought she wasn't. Besides, he was alone, hiding. Even his coven leader had no faith in him. It would be an easy kill.

LL Watkin is the pen name for writing partnership Liz Smith and Louise Smith, two sisters from the North of England who've been writing together for nearly ten years but only started publishing in 2012. We write a mixture of short stories and full length novels in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and while some stories may be more Louise's and others more Liz's, all spring from a collaborative process.

As of the end of 2014 we have five novels and two short story collections in print. The Leviathan series (Jethabel, Therion, Pathiel) is a ship bound sci-fi, and The Handmaiden (The Abbey at the World's End, The Chapel in the Wasteland) is a genre-crossing sci-fi with magical elements affair. The short story collections (The Harpers & other stories, The Drowned Leviathan & other stories) each contain 12-16 stories in a range of genres and styles, some of which are also available separately.

Our 2015 plans start with continuing The Handmaiden series with book 3, "The Cathedral in the Void" early in the year. Following that we have a full schedule of short stories being published throughout 2015, which will be collected as "The Witch Shrink and Other Stories" in December. During the summer we'll also have a new, stand-alone novel, tentatively titled "The Ghostly Manor".

Also in LL Watkin Stories

Also by This Author

Reviews

Review by:
Sherry Donacy
on Oct. 05, 2013 :
Again I will say it... it amazes me how, in the right hands, the themes I always thought exhausted beyond salvation can be breathed new life. The LL sisters have done just that with this charmingly alarming little tale. Vampire, check. Vampire hunter, check. Brand new spin that blew my mind, check. A young female priestess takes it into her own hands to exterminate an entire vampire coven. The setting seemed so believable, I would almost say this was set in Cathar France during the Bubonic Plague. At first, what impressed me was that both the vampire and the hunter seem to be so equally matched: one has light, the other dark; creatures of the day, creatures of the night; strong conviction, a century of knowledge. But then the sisters throw a wild card into the equation that completely tips the scales. A marvelously entertaining read. I look forward to many more from LL Watkin.(review of free book)